WEYMOUTH – Negotiations between the state attorney general’s office and Partners HealthCare to allow the Boston-based hospital chain to acquire South Shore Hospital have missed the initial deadline that was set last month.

The office and Partners are saying little about what missing Monday’s deadline to finalize the agreement means for the process, when a deal might be reached or what’s holding up negotiations.

Spokesmen for Partners and Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office issued the same statement saying, “Both sides are continuing to negotiate based on the agreement in principle announced last month.”

Brad Puffer, the spokesman for Coakley, declined to comment further.

Rich Copp, the Partners spokesman, said missing the deadline is not a sign that the negotiations aren’t going well.

Coakley’s office announced May 19 that it had reached a tentative deal to allow Partners to acquire the 318-bed Weymouth hospital. A press release issued by the office at that time said the deal would have to be finalized by both sides by Monday and then submitted to Suffolk Superior Court for approval.

The agreement would also allow Partners to acquire Harbor Medical Associates, a medical practice that includes 65 South Shore physicians, and Hallmark HealthCare, which has hospitals in Wakefield and Medford. It leaves open the door for Partners to acquire Emerson Hospital in Concord.

In exchange, Partners and South Shore Hospital would have to agree to limit price increases for several years, and Partners would have to curtail further expansion in eastern Massachusetts, including Worcester County.

Coakley said last month that her office could still sue to block the merger if the tentative deal falls through.

Partners’ proposed takeover of South Shore Hospital has won widespread local support, including from the mayors of Weymouth and Braintree and business and labor leaders.

But a coalition of more than a dozen health care providers that compete with Partners last week came out against the tentative deal with Coakley’s office, saying it would solidify Partners’ dominance in the market and weaken smaller competitors. The coalition includes Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which has hospitals in Milton and Plymouth, and Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital

The state’s Health Policy Commission also reviewed Partners’ proposed takeover of South Shore Hospital and Harbor Medical and warned that it would drive up costs without improving care on the South Shore. The commission hasn’t completed its review of Partners’ planned takeover of the Hallmark hospitals.

Christian Schiavone may be reached at cschiavone@ledger.com or follow him on Twitter @CSchiavo_Ledger.